Curran retires with 214 international caps remaining
Taylor Curran remembers his first senior national team camp in 2009 like it was yesterday. He was only 16 years old and playing for provincial team BC, but had yet to be considered for the junior national program. He said it was the best camp of his life. A month later, he was in Russia and earned his first senior national cap.
Curran will retire this year as a veteran of 15 years with the men's national team and 214 caps. He has played at the Olympics twice, at the Pan American Games three times, and in countless international tournaments around the world. He is retiring as a longtime Red Caribou stalwart. As Curran retires from his international career with the national hockey team, he reflects on his journey over more than a decade of dedication to Hockey Canada. From his teenage years to becoming a consistent force on the men's national team, Curran has proven his ability in all aspects of the game. Throughout his career, Curran has witnessed major changes in the game, growing and adapting as rules and strategies evolve. From the introduction of self-pass starts to the half-to-quarter transition to rolling subs, he said everyone needed to embrace the changes to improve as a team and as individuals.
Curran attributes much of his success to the support of his family and mentors, especially his mother. His mother was a varsity field hockey player at her UBC, and her guidance and coaching laid the foundation for his journey. He also acknowledged the pivotal role of coaches and mentors such as Indi Ssembi and Sean Campbell, who believed in his abilities and gave him opportunities at a young age.
“My mom was my first coach and got me into the sport. She's been a field hockey player in Vancouver for many years,” he said. “Sean [Campbell] He played for the Canadian national team in the 2000s. He has been my physio forever and before that he was my first real high performance coach. Sean had just retired at the time and was a huge role model for me. ”
He also acknowledged his older brother Spencer Curran, who also had a 30-cap career with the national team. Taylor remembers the days when he and his brother would take the bus from Deep Cove, where he grew up, to downtown Vancouver with a bag of old balls and spend all afternoons hitting balls on Andy Livingston's grass field. I remember. The two played junior hockey, club hockey together, and also played for the UBC Thunderbirds.
Looking back at the pinnacle moments of his career, Curran fondly remembers the team's era from 2014 to 2018, marked by qualification to the FIH World League tournament and subsequent performances at the Olympics and World Cup. There is. He said he remembers the national pride he felt at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and his exhilarating victories in qualifying events. Each memory has its own special place for different reasons.
“Obviously Rio was a great experience. It was my first Olympics,” he said. “But qualifying for Rio in 2015 in Buenos Aires was incredible. Everything went well. We beat India and qualified for the World Cup. It might have been the best my team ever played in the tournament.”
As he moves on to his next chapter, Curran said he will continue to focus on field hockey and remain involved in club hockey and grassroots activities. He hopes to develop the next generation of athletes through his commitment to high performance his programs and his role as a director of his club West Vancouver and his Field Hockey.
For Curran, the memories of traveling to and from games – spending time with teammates off the field, in hotels and visiting locations around the world – are cherished as much as the wins themselves. He said he would remember the catchable game he and his teammates played in different countries by passing and passing the ball around. From road trips to post-workout coffee hours, his journey has not been defined by success on the field, but by lifelong friendships and bonds formed with his teammates.
“There's a lot I'm going to miss. I think I'll still see my teammates and friends. Many of my best friends are or were on the team. We've experienced common adversity and the same struggles. “When I see them there every day, there’s a big difference,” he said. “I’m going to miss that part of spending time in the locker room and chatting.”
Today we celebrate Taylor Curran's incredible career. Thank you for your contribution to this sport and we look forward to seeing what you accomplish next.
Main cast of Taylor Curran:
- First Cap – June 22, 2009, Russia
- 2010 World Cup – New Delhi, India
- 3-time Pan American Cup Champion (2013, 2017, 2022)
- Three Pan American Games (2015. 2019, 2023)
- 2 Olympic Games (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
- Three Commonwealth Games (2014, 2018, 2022)
- Final Cap – January 16, 2024, Oman
